Senior Sri Lankan police officer to lead team probing 4 Lankan nationals arrested in India

PTI

Colombo, May 22

Sri Lanka police on Wednesday said a senior Deputy Inspector General will head a team appointed to investigate four of its citizens arrested in Gujarat when on an alleged mission to carry out terror activities in India at the behest of the banned Islamic State.

Acting on a tip-off, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Sunday apprehended four Sri Lankan nationals at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad after they travelled from Colombo via Chennai.

The men travelled to India to carry out terror activities at the behest of the banned terror outfit Islamic State (IS) and are members of IS radicalised by a leader from Sri Lanka who is living in Pakistan, according to the Indian police.

“A senior Deputy Inspector General-headed police team has been appointed by the Inspector General Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon,” police Spokesman and Senior Superintendent Nihal Thalduwa told PTI.

He said the police chief's action followed official intimation of the Lankan citizens' arrests by the Indian authorities.

The appointed DIG has the crime investigation division and the terrorism investigation division of the police under his command, Thalduwa said, adding that they would coordinate with the intelligence agencies in the probe.

On Tuesday, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and IGP Tennakoon said they were taking these reports seriously and closely monitoring the developments.

Alles and Tennakoon said they would initiate discussions with Indian authorities to gather detailed information about the suspects and their activities, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

Citing sources, it said that Sri Lankan authorities would "immediately investigate" to take further action once the information is obtained.

The accused, Mohammad Nusrat (35), Mohammad Faarukh (35), Mohammad Nafran (27) and Mohammad Rasdeen (43), informed investigators that they were earlier associated with the banned Sri Lankan radical militant outfit, National Thowheeth Jamath (NJT), and joined IS after getting in touch with Pakistani handler Abu Bakr Al Bagdadi, said Gujarat Director General of Police Vikas Sahay.

Of the four arrested, Nafran has been identified as the son of notorious underworld criminal Niyas Naufer, aka 'Potta Naufer', who was sentenced to death for the killing of a high court judge, reported Sri Lankan news portal News First.

Investigations have also revealed that Nafran dropped out of school and started a business by travelling to India, purchasing clothing material, and returning to Sri Lanka to sell it.

He was arrested by Sri Lanka Police in 2017 for a charge filed under the National Gem and Jewellery Authority Act.

Detectives have also uncovered that he frequented India and Dubai for business, the report said. 

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